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Column: An entree into dining across the pond

For you armchair eaters, Sunday’s column (read it here) is about the meals I had in London and Paris and the experience of dining there. In what should come as no surprise, the food was better in Paris. At right, a croissant from a bakery near my hotel. I’m holding it. It’s not levitating.

Finally! A way to eat what I want and when I want without putting on the pounds. I’ve become an armchair foodie.

Thanks again, David, for sharing your adventures.

DebB

My friends and I agreed: pub food is generally much better than restaurant food in England. I love the meat pies – shepherd’s, steak and kidney, steak and ale, etc. Also the ploughman’s lunch – a plate of cheeses, bread, pickled things, and a slice of some kind of meat pie.

RK

I don’t know if you tried any fast food in Paris (yes, admittedly a bit of a waste) but I was really surprised when I went to a Burger King and just the overall quality of the hamburger and fries (er, frites) were noticeably better than what we get here. The produce used in the hamburger and I would assume the oil used to fry (and probably the potatoes) were just of higher quality.

And in London, the Chinese food (particularly in the Soho area) is also very good. My English friends encouraged me to stick with Indian and Chinese while there (and avoid the indigenous stuff (unless it was a place like Gordon Ramsey’s) like the plague!)

Enjoyed your columns!

[Thanks, RK. I didn’t try any fast food, or any Chinese food for that matter, but that’s interesting about the BK quality. I wonder what the Brits think if they vacation in the U.S. and try a Whopper and fries and it’s not at all what they expected? — DA]

Dee

LOL, your list of foods eaten reminds me of an old poem:

Mary had a little lamb, a lobster and some prunes,
a glass of milk, a piece of pie, and then some macaroons.
It made the naughty waiters grin to see her order so-
and when they carried Mary out, her face was white as snow.

[Heh. — DA]

nestor

Nice column. I enjoyed reading about your vacation. And I have to agree with you about Chino Hills–no one walks. I tried my hand, or feet, at walking when I lived there and it’s very discouraging to walk when the shopping centers are designed for cars only. Try finding easy access without walking thru the shrubs…good luck! Needless to say, I moved away… Lol!

Doug Evans

I’ve been remiss in sharing how much I’ve been enjoying these columns… I’ve really been enjoying the columns! Especially loved the Sherlock one… the twelve-year-old in me thanks you for stopping by Baker Street and writing it up. All the columns have taken me back to my first (and so far only) visit to England and France, way back in 1992. Kudos! And good for you for leaving the country (for the second time)! Which I mean in a good way. Here’s to your next trip and follow-up travelogue, in or out of the United States!

(Also: come out to Chino Hills on a Saturday morning… You’ll see lots of us walking or, in my case, running! Admittedly, we’re not doing a whole lot of shopping… but, hey, we’re outside in the Southern California fresh air!)

[But are you on sidewalks? Maybe you are, I dunno. Nobody else is. And I appreciate the feedback on the travel columns. I haven’t received a single email from a reader about them, unlike my Mexico City columns. Not even a knock-it-off-already email. But numerous people have approached me in person to say they’re enjoying them. — DA]

rpfromrc

I certainly agree that a lot of British food is bad, and that most of the best less expensive restaurants in London are ethnic ones, especially from former colonies. A full British breakfast is a heart attack on a plate.

On the other hand, there are excellent British dishes, and when I was young, the British wife of one of my father’s good friends was an excellent cook.

Andy

During my trip to London, the most delicious thing I ate was none other than a Jumbucks Aussie pie. Absolutely fabulous, unfortunately I only had time to make two visits to this fast food establishment.

Dining in Paris has a lasting effect on any visitor as long as one stays away from the tourist dining. Your experience compelled you to write a column on it, a testament to Parisian dining. Some of my most fond memories are too of dining in Paris and eating beef entrecote au poivre and confit du canard. I’ve been chasing the duck confit ever since and i think I’ve just found a favorite while in the Central Coast last week.

Roaming the streets of Paris is a gastronomical tour. Having spent 4 consecutive days in the SGV and LA these few days, I felt the same spirit as I was in Paris. Tomorrow is my last day in LA and then I’ll be thrust back into gastronomical lock down of Rancho Cucamonga. A sea of endless chain restaurants and bad sushi.

[There, there. And speaking of which, I’ve heard good reports about the Japanese restaurant that recently replaced Sushi Wa at Hellman and Foothill. — DA]

About this blog

A roundup of news, history, food, travel and cultural items from around the Inland Valley.

About this blogger

A journalist for nearly 30 years, David Allen has been chronicling the Inland Valley for the Daily Bulletin since 1997 and blogging since 2007. His first book, "Pomona A to Z," was published in 2014.
E-mail David here. Read recent columns here.